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2018

Olympus Zuiko 24 f2.8 -  Punching above its weight

Sony A7 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8

This is my second vintage Zuiko (I did have an OM-D EM-5 for a while and loved modern Zuikos). The first was the 21mm f3.5 MC which is a tiny little thing that performed well and looked good doing it. This one is actually almost identical in look, size, weight, construction quality - all good things! But how does it compare optically? Read on to find out.

The Olympus Zuiko 24/2.8 (multicoated) specs:
  • 8 elements in 7 groups
  • Weight - 185 grams
  • Length - 31 mm (59 mm with adapter)
  • Filter size - 49 mm
  • Min. focus distance - 0.25 m
  • Aperture - 6 blades, f2.8 to f16  in full stops

Build Quality/Handling (Excellent/Excellent)

All I said about the 21mm f3.5 applies EXACTLY to this lens. It's a nice, solid metal lens with a great aperture ring and smooth rubberized focus ring that travels just under 90˚between .25m and infinity. It's tiny, it's light, it's compact and it's damn pretty with that silver ring contrasting nicely with the black metal finish. The lens also handles very well on the a6500, A7s, and A7iii.

Image Quality (Decent)

Let's look at sharpness first - a couple of shots on the A7iii. 

Sony A7iii with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 sharpness
@f2.8 on the Sony A7iii - click photo for 100% view
Sony A7iii with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 sharpness
@f2.8 on the Sony A7iii - click photo for 100% view

And on the a6500.

Sony a6500 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 sharpness
Sony a6500 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 sharpness
100% centre crops - from top left - f2.8, f4, f5.6, f8
Sony a6500 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 sharpness
100% corner crops - from top left - f2.8, f4, f5.6, f8

As was the case with the 21mm f3.5, this little Zuiko shows very good sharpness in the centre of the frame on both 24mp sensors. Unfortunately, the corners aren't as good and even at f8 they're not that sharp. Part of this is the lateral CA, but it might also be due to field curvature which is really noticeable when shooting closer subjects. 

Bokeh isn't really something that people generally get 24mm lenses for, but it's certainly there when shooting wide open. How is it? I think it's actually decent for this focal length, though in a typical 24mm fashion it can be busy with some outlining of specular highlights, for example. Still, I like it, but I'm no bokeh snob and don't need super smooth stuff to be happy. 

Sony A7 Sony a6500 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 bokeh
Sony A7 Sony a6500 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 bokeh
Sony A7 Sony a6500 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 bokeh
Sony A7 Sony a6500 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 bokeh
f2.8
f4
f5.6

Lateral CA is pretty visible in the corners but otherwise CA is well controlled. There's pretty heavy vignetting wide open and it takes  a few clicks of the old aperture ring to get rid of it. 

f2.8
f4
f5.6
f8

In my opinion, the biggest weaknesses of the Zuiko 21mm f3.5 was its poor flare resistance and unusual ghosting flare with the light source just outside the angle of view. The 24mm Olympus lacks those distinct, half-circular, orange blobs. Its performance is overall better, and in some situations there's barely any flare. Still, there can be lots of ghosting and some peculiar circular flare, too. On the other hand, contrast retention is quite good.

Here's a bunch of shots into the light.

Sony A7 Sony a6500 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 flare
Sony A7 Sony a6500 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 flare
Picture
Sony A7 Sony a6500 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 flare
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Sony A7 Sony a6500 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 flare
Sony A7 Sony a6500 with Olympus Zuiko 24mm f2.8 flare

There's also some slight barrel/moustache distortion, which is difficult to completely get rid off in post, but it's not super noticeable in most situations. 

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Conclusion

Alright, so it might sound like I didn't love this lens, but I actually think that it's a decent performer. It's certainly a beautifully put together little thing that packs pretty good image quality into a tiny package and looks great on the Sony A7. Yes, there are several weaknesses, but it does have a modern, contrasty rendering that's pretty attractive.

​However, it's not a cheap 24mm compared to something like the Canon nFD 24mm f2.8, and I suspect that it's not any better optically either, though I'll wait till I shoot them side by side to make up my mind. Overall, I liked the Zuiko 21mm f3.5 more, even with its funky flare. 

Related reviews
  • Samyang 12mm f2
  • Voigrtlander 15mm f4.5
  • Olympus Zuiko 21mm f3.5
  • Canon nFD 24mm f2.8

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